Here are more than 50 of the hottest events in Vancouver this month.
EVENTS
PROJECT EMPTY BOWL: In support of the A Loving Spoonfuls Family Pantry Program, gourmet cuisine will be served in a hand-crafted souvenir bowl. Live and silent auction. June 21, 6:30pm. $85-100. ALovingSpoonful.org
VANCOUVER DRAW DOWN: 35 different arts and cultural organizations will host diverse, hands-on drawing workshops in community centres, parks, schools, art galleries, cemeteries, and on the street. June 15. Challenge begins June 5. VancouverDrawDown.com
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: A classical cabaret starring musician Jonathan Chan and the 1715 Montaganana violin. Pal Studio Theatre (581 Cardero), June 23, 100; $40 at TicketsTonight.ca or call 604-684-2787.
TOUCH WOOD: Two dozen wood sculptures and installations by prominent BC artists such as Brent Comber, Michael Dennis, Alastair Heseltine and Martha Varcoe Sturdy. Van Dusen Botantical Gardens. June 20 through until Sept. 30. Vancouver.ca/vandusen/
WORLD OCEANS DAY: Family fun activities at the Vancouver Aquarium. June 8, 10am-5pm. $25. Vanaqua.org
HERITAGE VANCOUVER SOCIETY GARDEN PARTY: A wonderful opportunity to meet and mix with elected officials, community leader, and heritage supporters. $100 donation includes wine and hors doeuvres. June 20, 5:30-7pm. HeritageVancouver.org
VANCOUVER OPEN: $125,000 purse based on a full field of national and international players, and $16,000 for the winner. Begining June 13 at 7am, competitors rotate between McCleery and Langara Golf Courses for the first two rounds. The final round is at Fraserview Golf Course June 15beginning at7amwith the tournament leaders expected to tee off at approximately1:30 pm. $10 per day or $20 for a full week pass. VancouverOpen.net
IVAN SAYERS FASHION SHOW: Elegance Lost: Looks of the 1930s and 1940s at Roedde House, June 15. High tea. Reservations strongly suggested. Roeddehouse.org
30 WAYS TO PARTY (PARTY): Firehall Arts Centre celebrates 30 years of theatre, dance, and art with an evening of food, fun, and friends. Dancers, musicians, and storytellers. 280 East Cordova, June 20, $30. FirehallArtsCentre.ca
ROOTS OF CHANGE: Two evenings of music, dance, theatre, and live visual art. Proceeds go towards Art for Impacts Impract Project. Music starts on the CBC outdoor stage (700 Hamilton) at 7 pm. June 7-8, 7-10 pm. $15-20. ArtForImpact.ca
CRAFT BEER WEEK: Running until June 8, adults only. VancouverCraftBeerWeek.com. See story.
KUSH CUP: Modeled after similar Cannabis competition events. Connected to the Vancouver Health Expo at the PNE, the event includesboat cruises and a concert series. Also Charlie Murphy of the Chapelle show, and Hip Hop legend B Real of Cypress Hill. June 29-30. Kushcup.ca
MEC BIKEFEST: Connect with your local cycling community. Try out gear, test ride a new bike, browse exhibitors booths, score deals at the MEC Bike Swap, or learn skills at a bike clinic. Therell also be bike races, performers, entertainment, food vendors, and kids activities. June 15, 10am to 3pm at Atheletes Village Plaza (1 Athletes Way). Events.MEC.ca/
NORTHERN VOICE: Blogging and social-media conference at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre covers topics such as the power of infographics, blogging and employment law, social-nuclear dynamics and creativity, photography, how to get and use free stuff, podcasting, Twitter as a note-taking tour, getting things syndicated. Tix $20-$130. NorthernVoice.ca
VANCOUVER CHINATOWN NIGHT MARKET: Vendors, live music, storytelling, mahjong, food, outdoor classic movie screenings and ping-pong tournaments. Til Sept. 8 every weekend, 6-8pm. Keefer between Main and Columbia. VancouverChinaTownNightMarket.com
JAMCOUVERS HOTEL TAKEOVER RAMP PARTY: A one-night fundraiser, June 15, in celebration of skateboarding, music and arts. Three floors and 24 rooms at The Burrard transformed by artists both visual and sound. HUMANS to perform, the Jamcouver skate teams will be announced and a skateboard ramp will be on-site. GA tix $22. HotelTakeover.eventbrite.ca/#
CAR FREE DAY: Sunday June 16. Commercial: Venables to N. Grandview Hwy, noon to 7pm. Main: Broadway to 30th, noon to 7pm. West End: Denman between Davie and Robson, noon to 6pm. Kitsilano: block parties June 15 & 16, various locations. CarFreeVancouver.org.
ITALIAN DAY: Italian Day on The Drive embraces everything that is Italian: food, music, fashion, dance, art, sport, history and community. June 9 from noon to 8pm on Commercial. TheDrive.ca
GREEK DAY: The celebration of Hellenic culture is June 23 on W. Broadway, between Blenheim and MacDonald, 11am to 9pm. Music, dance, kids zone, cooking demos, agora (marketplace) and delicious food tents. GreekDay.com
RUSSIA DAY: The fifth annual largest Russian event in BC. Kids entertainment, Russian food, Russian dancers and singers, fashion show, and beauty contest. June 16, 12-8 pm. Creekside Community Centre. Palmetheatre.com. Russian club night at Joseph Richards (1082 Granville), 10:30pm to 2am, CrewEntertainment.ca
VIVA VANCOUVER: Beginning June 21, Robsons summertime plaza will close each weekend until Sept. 1, providing a rare opportunity to lounge and socialize in the middle of a normally high-traffic road downtown. Beginning June 29 and each weekend until Sept. 1, Granville will be overtaken by homegrown art, live music, performances and street markets. More at Vancouver.ca.
FESTIVALS
IN THE HOUSE: Music, dance, magic, comedy, burlesque and of course a circus at 13 houses. June 7-9. $10-75. InTheHouseFestival.com.
SONGFIRE: Month-long celebration of the wondrous pairing of poetry and song featuring local and international artists and scholars in a series of concerts, workshops, and masterclasses. Held at UBC and various Vancouver venues. Until June 26. $0-$45. Songfire.ca
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL: 28th annual event features 11 days packed with the music of 1,800 artists. Highlights include Herbie Hancock (founder of Int. Jazz Day), Grammy-winning singer/bassist Esperanza Spalding and world music buzz band Red Baraat. June 21 to July 1. Schedules and free concert info at VanJazzFest.ca. See story.
MUSIC WASTE: Awarding you the middle finger since 1994. Four days of music, comedy and art throughout East Van. June 6-9. Tix and schedule at MusicWaste.ca
HSBC CITY OF BHANGRA FESTIVAL: Highlights include rePercussion, Bhangra on Main and international artist such as Sunil Kalyan, Saini Surinder and the Incredible Kid. On until June 8; various Vancouver and Surrey venues. TicketsTonight.ca
SPUR VANCOUVER: Canadas first national festival of politics, art and ideas, designed to spur a feisty, nation-wide search for ways forward on the most current of issues. Produced by Diaspora Dialogues and the Literary Review of Canada, the annual festival is multi-partisan and solutions-oriented. June 17-19. Tix $10/event. SpurFestival.ca
THEATRE
YOU ARE VERY STAR: Part live theatre, part site-specific, interactive experience. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Vancouvers beloved Planetarium in Vanier Park. June 12-29. ElectricCompanyTheatre.com. $15-$10.
WE ARE THREE SISTERS: The Bronte sisters cast their eye over the world with searing intensity hopeful and honest, scathing and funny, beautiful and beguiling. June 7-30, All performances at 8 pm except Sunday June 30th there is a 2 pm matinee. $16-$20 available at the door. Visit UnitedPlayers.com for information and reservations.
WOMEN4WOMEN: A romantic comedy about falling in virtual love. All the characters meet online until it heats up so much that they have to meet in person. June 11-13, 7:30 pm. The Railway Club 579 Dunsmuir St. $10 for sale at various locations and at the door. Visit LeapingThespians.ca.
CAPULETI E I MONTECCH: Romeo and Juliet takes on a new rendition. June 9, 7 pm, Cambrian Hall 315 East 17th. $12-18. Visit Procantanti.com.
THE FROGS: Stephen Sondheims musical that marries Greek comedy to George Bernard Shaws wit, featuring 78-year-old Westender Alex McLeod. June 13, 14 and 15, Pyatt Hall. ApplauseMusicals.com
DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL REVISITED: Is democracy as we know it in danger? In the 2013 Milton K. Wong Lecture, one of Americas leading political philosophers and public intellectuals revisits the case she made 20 years ago in Democracy on Trial, (originally broadcast as the 1993 Massey Lectures). June 13, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC. Free. Chancentre
DREAMGIRLS: The rags-to-riches tale of a 1960s girl group, loosely based on The Supremes. Until July 7 Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, $29 to $70. ArtsClub.com or 604-687-1644.
AVENUE Q: Irreverently witty and outright uproarious, the Broadway musical for adults. June 20-August3 on the Granville Island Stage. ArtsClub.com or 604-687-1644.
PROOF: Time is quickly running out on Catherine, who skirts the line between madness and geniuss in this Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Until June 8,$18-$25. TheCultch.com.
SHIFT: This boundary-pushing festival brings a diverse array of local artists to The Cultch for three days of rapid, risk-taking theatre: The Edge, Where Have All The Lightning Bugs Gone? Remember You Are Sublime, Wild Abandon, Madeline Nude in the Rain (Don Nigro), and Dust. June 13-15, $15. TheCultch.com
MAKING WAVS: A Warriors Against Violence Gala Benefit. Celebrate Aboriginal History Month with Aboriginal music, fashion and comedy! June 20, 6-7 pm. $40. TheCultch.com
LES MISERABLES: Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönbergs legendary musical. June 12-23 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tix $87-$130. Info at Vancouver.broadway.com. See story.
DANCE
SPIRIT TRANSFORMING: Dancers of Damelahamids signature new work, Spirit Transforming, combines the richness and beauty of the tradition of masked dances of the Gitxsan. June 15, $20-$25. Scotiabank Dance Centre. TicketsTonight.ca
SIROCO, SOUTHERN WIND: Centro Flamenco and Flamenco Rosario, with a special guest performance by Argentine Tango Lab. June 29, 8pm at Vancouver Playhouse. $30. CentroFlamenco.com
CINEMA
PACIFIC CINEMATHEQUE OPEN HOUSE: Free tours and activities, noon to 2pm, followed by a free a screening of Charlie Chaplins Easy Street with live piano accompaniment followed by Safety Last. June 15, 1131 Howe. Also in June, 10-film retrospective of Charles Bracket and Billy Wilder, Kibatsu Cinema featuring eccentric and contemporary Japanese film, the premiere of The We and The I.
BEST OF HOT DOCS: Celebrates the Vancouver premieres of seven outstanding films from this years Hot Docs lineup. June 21-23. VIFF.org
CLASSICAL
JOY OF MUSIC: Voilinpower and Orchestra presents a youth benefit concert raising funds for childhood cancer. June 5, 5pm. $25. Violinpower.ca
WEST COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Sergei Prokofievs Symphony No. 5, Benjamin Brittens Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and Antonin Dvoraks Carnival Overture in Concert. Christ Church Cathedral, June 7, 8pm. By donation only. Westcoastsymphony.ca
CORDEI HARD AND VIOLIN DUO: A French inspired program with a unique combination of instruments. June 9, 3pm, Roedde House. $10. You can get tickets at brownpapertickets.com
FIREBIRD: Celebrate the music of Igor Stravinsky and his influences. The Russian School of Music performs the music of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky; Stravinskys astonishing Firebird is presented complete. June 8 -10, $28.50-$88. VancouverSymphony.ca
LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS: A traditional concert celebrating the last night of the BBC Promenades series of concerts in Londons Royal Albert Hall. June 5, 8 pm. $28-84. VancouverSymphony.ca
LHISTOIRE DU SOLDAT: Written in 1918 as a theatrical work for small ensemble, taken from the French libretto written by C.F. Ramuz, and based on a Russian folk tale. Bramwell Tovey narrates, and VSO Principal Percussion Vern Griffiths conducts. June 9, 7:30 pm. VancouverSymphony.ca
CARMEN: UBC Opera, conductor Leslie Dala, and members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra present a production of Bizets opera about a naive soldier who is seduced by the wiles of a fiery gypsy. In French with English surtitles. Tix at UBCOpera.universitytickets.com/
STRAVINSKYPLUS: Maestro Tovey and the VSO present a two-week celebration of the music of Stravinsky and the Russian Masters. You will hear music from his three major ballets: The Rite of Spring, The Firebird (1919), and Petrouchka (1947), in addition to great music by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsako. June 8-17. VancouverSymphony.ca
MUSIC
MAKE MUSIC VANCOUVER: Gastown streets become sidewalk musical stages and festive dance floors! June 21, free. MakeMusicVancouver.ca
KINNIE STARR: Hip-hop singer-songwriter from Calgary June 8, with guests Kytami and Kieran Strange. Tix $18 (plus fees) at Highlife, Red Cat, Zulu, Neptoon Records, and LiveAtRickshaw.com.
SARAH KENNEDY: Songs about unrequited love at Roedde House, part of a monthly concert series on the second Thursday of each month. June 13, 7pm. $10. brownpapertickets.com.
PATT GRIFFIN: The songstress will be performing songs from her new album American Kid, co-produced by Griffin and Craig Ross. June 18 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC, 6265 Crescent Road. $35-$50. ChanCentre.com
FOR POULENC: Presented by the UBC School of Music as part of VISI SONGFIRE festival. June 21, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC. $24-$49. ChanCentre.com
OUT OF TOWN
WALKING READ: Come dressed as your favourite childrens-book character to this costume gala that includes live and silent auctions, food, refreshments and prizes for the best costume. Live music provided by Gale Force Blues Band, Nancy Newman Jazz Trio, Xray Ted. Proceeds go to the BC Childrens Hospital Family Support and Resource Centre. June 14, 7 to 11pm at Open Road Lexus (5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond).
Send your July Hot Tickets event info to [email protected]. Please put 'HOT TICKETS' in the subject line.
